Monday, March 30, 2009

There is a conspiracy in the fashion world. Its almost sexism. Girls clothes are preferred over boys clothes. All the girls clothes gets special treatment. They are in the fashionable colors. They get priority placement at the cash register. The boy clothes are hidden in the back corner and have far fewer choices.

My littlest dude is ready for shoes. Not real ones from Stride Rite. No the soft soled ones that are sort-of shoes, but not really. He is starting to stand and before the month is out he will be needing shoes for when we are out and about so he can stand on the filthy floor at McD's. In the past I have purchased the Robeez. This time we are going to try out the Pedipeds.

I typed in www.pediped.com ready to find lots of cute little boy 'shoes' to choose from. The three pics on the home page is a large one of 8 little girls sitting in their Easter Finest on a garden bench swinging their pediped-clad feet back and forth. The next picture is a close up of those adorable white buckled shoes and the 3rd picture is the same shoes in the soft soled variety.

Yes! I get it. Boys aren't cute. Girls clothes are cuter. But my not-cute boy will one day grow up to squish a spider for that squealing girl in her Mary Janes or he will take out the trash for the same little girl so her dress doesn't get ruined. So please don't ignore the boys moms, um, I mean the boys.

Friday, March 27, 2009

They are all gone. All that is left is a few pairs of underwear that are as big as a circus tent and just as brightly colored and 2 bathing suits. There are no more maternity clothes in this house. Wow. I might actually cry. Well, the only thing that will keep me from crying is that I gave them to a good friend with the stipulation that she give them back "just in case". Its given me an out. I can have them back if I want them or if I need them. I love having the safety net of getting rid of things and no intentions of having more babies, but I can still change my mind or have it changed for me.

I can't believe that I have been doing the baby/pregnant thing for 7 years now. Some days it feel longer, but on nights like this where everyone is sleeping and quiet it seems like yesterday when I first started shopping for my tent shirts and had to learn how maternity pants worked. *sniff* Yeah, I'm gonna need those clothes back. At least for the memories.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

I went through a time in my life where I thought Disneyland was boring. I was a teen. I thought I was too cool for everything. Magic Mountain was cheaper and closer and the rides were faster.

But now that I have 4 little kids nothing beats Disneyland. NOTHING. We have season passes, so often times we head down during nap time (the kiddos nap in the car) and then spend 5 hours on our 5 favorite rides and then stop for dinner on our way home. The whole trip only costs us $50. That's a pretty good deal for a family of 6.

But a few weeks ago we had a true Disney weekend. My sister came out to visit and my husband decided it was time to have a boys-weekend. So I packed up the kiddos and we went to Disneyland for the weekend. It was a warm February and we took bathing suits and shorts. Honestly, the weekend was as perfect as could be.

We stayed at the new Grand Californian hotel. It was fabulous. We got adjoining rooms for our group of 8 (me, my kids, grandparents and sis). Our room had a queen, bunk bed with a trundle. We had a view of the monorail and the kids were content to watch the 'train' drive by every 10 minutes. While I checked in, double-checked our rooms, negotiated payment and generally did the housekeeping part of the weekend the kids sat in tiny kid-sized chairs and watched Disney cartoons. It was such an easy check-in process with no one pulling on my leg or wanting to know what I was doing.

Since we were kind of celebrating Lainy Ann's birthday they had a special surprise for her; balloons, a button and a signed picture of Alice in Wonderland. Disney certainly know how to make a gal feel special. The rest of the weekend she was greeted with "Happy Birthday, Princess" by every single employee - at the restaurant, the doorman, the attendants at the rides, everyone. She was in absolute heaven.

In the interest of packing lightly I left the swim vests at home, but knew we had a 1:1 ratio of kids to grown ups, so they weren't really needed. But I was pleasantly surprised to see that Disney provided swim vests in 4 different sizes. Connor and William opted for vests, but William still tried to drown as he tripped down the stairs. Then they made us of the 3 pools, jacuzzi and 2 water slides. One of the pools was only a few inches deep so William could walk around and splash in it.

We had dinner at the Storybook Cafe which was okay food. The portions were large enough that we were able to only order 4 meals for 8 of us. That really helped keep costs down. Then we went to the gift shop where each child bought a toy with their very own money. Yup. I'm counting it as a math lesson. It also gave them a brand new toy to play with while we were in the hotel room. They were so proud of their purchases.

That night Papa stayed with the sleeping children as my mom, sis and I (and Alexander) walked Downtown Disney and eventually bought matching t-shirts to wear to Disney the next day. It was just shopping, but it was so much more. I have really missed my sister being so far away and it was fun to just hang out and talk. Don't we look stylish in our matching clothes?

In the morning we rushed over to Disneyland at 7 am. Did you know you get in an hour early if you stay at the hotel? We went on 5 rides in just 2 hours. There were absolutely no lines and everything was clean and freshly hosed down. It was like the park was open just for us.

We got hungry and headed back to the Storybook Cafe for a character breakfast with cake to celebrate Lainy Ann's birthday. William was terrified of the characters and spent most of the time screaming and crying in my mother's lap. I felt really bad for him. But the rest of use had a great time and the food was really terrific.

Did I mention that It's a Small World has been revamped? They cleaned and repainted everything. I heard rumor that they added some of the Disney characters to the ride and I thought that was blasphemous. But, in true Walt-form, it was done very tastefully.

We had a fabulous time at Disney. It was even better because of the good company, great deal we got, and the warm weather. The kids were well behaved and had a blast with everyone. I can't wait until my sis can come visit again.

I'm not getting a cut from her business. But I wanted to tell you all about her anyway. I found a lady named Debbie who will draw a portrait from a picture. She specializes in memorials of stillborn children. But with a twist. She changes their position, makes them look full-term, clothes them, adds teddy bears, whatever you like. I emailed her newborn pictures of my living children and the only picture I have of the twins. This is the preliminary sketch she made me. I can't wait to see the full version.

Here is the final version:
I will get a hard copy, this electronic copy, plus all the rights to the picture so I can make postcards or other cards for anniversaries and such. I highly recommend her work. She worked closely with me to make sure I was satisfied.

Alexander has been eating "solids" for about 6 weeks now. I don't know why they are considered solids since they are so mushed up that they resemble mash, but nonetheless he is learning to eat real food. No matter what I put in his mouth he makes a horrible screwed up face like it is the most foul food he has ever eaten. He first did this with peas, but then continued when I fed him carrots, sweet potatoes, prunes, apples and even when I snuck him a lick of my ice cream.

But this week he has a cold. The poor little guy is coughing and hacking and his nose is running like a faucet. But he seems perfectly content to lick the snot off of his lip. And when I manage to get a kleenex near his face he fights me like he is drowning and gasping for air. How is it that snot tastes better than ice cream?

Thursday, March 5, 2009

I still remember exactly when Lainy Ann first got into the car with a non-family member. I was petrified. She was invited to a birthday party that she desperately wanted to attend at the dreaded CEC. The whole class was invited and from the sound of things she would be the only one not attending. I can't remember why, but we had a serious schedule conflict, even my mother was busy. So it was time to start looking outside of the family. But never before had anyone driven her. I finally bit the bullet and asked another mother from Lainy Ann's class. It may have seemed that easy from her perspective, but it wasn't. In hushed whispers I asked other teachers and the director about her morals, parenting and integrity. I asked about her son so I understood their value system. And then finally, in a fit of panic, I secretly copied down her license plate number. She and I have become great friends and laugh about it now.